HigHligHts 2011

stories of

impactstories of

contents

1 foreword mark H. ayers

2 Message pete stafford

4 research

6 a mobile interface to answer safety and Health Questions 7 Breakthrough Research leads to OsHa/NiOsH guidance Document 7 confronting construction safety’s greatest Foe 8 construction Workers take the initiative for safe conditions 8 creating products that communicate Research Findings 9 Danger to Workers more pronounced than Often Understood 10 Helping Workers live longer and Work smarter with local Exhaust Ventilation 12 immigrant Day laborers and peer-to-peer safety training 13 investigating spray-foam insulation and Occupational asthma 13 making concrete Drilling Easier 14 Rewarding safety without Discouraging incident Reporting 14 saving ironworkers’ Backs and lungs 15 seeking a Better Way to measure Health and safety performance 16 translating Research into action 18 Working with Business and labor for Better Respiratory and Hearing protection 18 Work shouldn’t Be a chronic pain 19 Big Findings in cpWR small studies

20 training

22 Building a Reserve army of Disaster Responders 23 the 10 Hours that can save a life: OsHa training 24 this training curriculum Hits the mark … 25 cpWR Hazardous Waste Worker training – cleans Up america 25 minority Worker training program

28 service

30 Building trades National medical screening program (Btmed) 32 Recent publications in peer-reviewed Journals and trade/Union magazines

35 cPwr consortiuM Partners

36 oversight and advisory Boards

37 cPwr staff

1

Foreword to Highlights 2011

T hose of us in the building

trades are a lucky bunch,

and we know it. We come out

of the best training facilities

in the world, drawing on the

experience of generations and,

thanks to CPWR, knowledge

of the latest innovations in

safety and health. We hone

our skills in the craft we’ve chosen because it fits us –

pouring foundations, erecting steel columns and beams,

linking people and systems with electrical current. We

walk onto a job site fully prepared to do what is asked

of us. We know what it’s like to do a hard day’s work.

When our work is done, our contribution is obvious.

You can drive by a building and say, “I did that.”

But what if your contributions weren’t set in stone.

Or brick. Or concrete. For those workers not fortunate

enough to be blessed with a desire to build and skill

set to match, how can they see their work has impact?

I know CPWR, and CPWR makes impact. Whether

it’s through the data analysis that has brought such

notoriety to CPWR, hours of training delivered or

visits made to CPWR’s growing electronic offerings,

CPWR can cite ways it has an impact on our industry.

Still, isn’t it better to hear a story of just how some-

thing like a ladder safety DVD or a training program

has made a difference in someone’s professional (or

personal) life?

This year, CPWR is going to give you the best of

both worlds: quantifiable results of the year’s work plus

“Stories of Impact.” You’ll meet people applying CPWR’s

information and programs to improve worker safety

and health. In the Research section, you get a glimpse

of the progress on projects to make your work easier and

safer. If you are a foreman needing a quick solution for a

just-detected hazard, the answer is as close as your smart

phone (see page 6). Think stud welding can only be

done one way? Think again (after reading page 14).

Can incentives to reward safety not discourage incident

reporting (also on page 14). The Stories of Impact open

a window into how some of CPWR’s research gets used

every day in America.

The Training section is impressive. We now have

more than 5,000 construction workers fully trained to

step into a disaster situation and not risk their life or

the lives of others while performing critical tasks. In

the last grant year, CPWR administered 274 courses –

nearly 80,000 hours – in various environmental hazard

training specialties. I am extremely proud to announce

that our Smart Mark OSHA 10-hour program has trained

an average of 10,000 workers a month.

The program we christened the Building Trades

Medical Screening Program (BTMed) continues to do an

outstanding job serving construction workers employed

on sites where nuclear weapons were produced. Today,

more than 24,000 of these workers unwittingly exposed

to hazards have been screened.

All this work produces impact. You’ll hear it in the

voices of the men who’ve been through the BTMed

screening program. You’ll catch the excitement of

workers leaving a CPWR training class – or the trainer

when he sees “a light bulb go on” with his students.

And you’ll get first-person accounts of how CPWR’s

research is put into practice with positive results.

I think you’ll find something in this report that will

connect with you and your work. Put it to use. Then tell

CPWR the results, or as a stakeholder in our industry tell

CPWR what else it can do to improve safety and health

conditions for all construction workers.

Mark H. AyersPresident, CPWRPresident, Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO

Mark h. ayers

W e are an institution

that has been

quantifying results since we

began our research initiative

in 1990 with the first grant

awarded by the National

Institute for Occupational

Safety and Health (NIOSH).

And we know CPWR’s work

of applied research and

training in safety and health

practices has had an impact.

We can count the millions

of visitors to our online

repository of construction

safety and health

information, eLCOSH. We

confirm the tens of thousands

of workers we’ve helped

train. We point with pride

to partnerships that bring

together industry, labor

and government to share

knowledge and collaborate

on projects to benefit all who

work in construction. And we

know that 98% of our BTMed

medical screening participants

are satisfied with the program.

But sometimes quantifying

impact is best demonstrated

with examples of impact.

2

ServiceResearch Training

For our Highlights 2011,

we took a step beyond brief

statements of what we

accomplished in the year.

We reached out to people in

the trades, in government and

industry and asked them how

CPWR’s work has made a

difference in their life, their

work, their productivity,

their health. The results

appear on almost every page

of the 2011 report – even this

one. Pictured above are three

young workers excelling in life

through the Minority Worker

ImpacTCPWR

“How has CPWR’s work made a difference in your professional or personal life? Email your story to news@cpwr.com.”

3

what is your story of impact?

Training program, a trainer

who’s found our ladder safety

DVD is so essential that he

always has a copy handy, and

a worker who found our

medical screening program to

be so critical that he promotes

it to his colleagues.

Now let me turn this

question to you: How has

CPWR’s work made a

difference in your professional

or personal life? Does your

training have richer content?

Have you applied what you’ve

learned in your academic or

professional career? Did you

find that important nugget of

information you couldn’t find

anywhere else? Let us hear

from you. Email your “story

of impact” to news@cpwr.

com. We’ll collect and publish

some highlights. For now,

turn your attention to this

annual report and see if

CPWR will have an impact

on you.

Pete Stafford

Executive Director

4

Research

Research

if you’re looking for impressive

results, rigorous academic publica-

tions are a good place to start. From

engineering and management to

medical toxicology to leadership

and organizational development,

cpWR-funded research appeared in

14 different peer-reviewed journals

during the last two years.

Yet as you see from the photos

at right, cpWR researchers did

much more than sit in university

offices writing up results of a lab

study. Our staff and consortium

partners were in the field where

the all-too-real hazards of the con-

struction industry present them-

selves. they monitored welding

fumes and silica dust in separate

and distinct activities, such as stud

welding, tuck-pointing, drilling into

concrete, and demolition. they

examined work-related asthma and

exposure to isocyanates in spray-

foam insulation. they measured

the stress on workers’ bodies when

performing taxing physical labor

– and they even measured workers’

and managers’ perceptions about

this work. they collected stories

of critical incidents on job sites to

identify the barriers workers face in

speaking up for safe work practices.

and then they published.

But our researchers also know

that their efforts do not end with

a journal article. cpWR’s vibrant

research to practice (“r2p”) effort

is already helping them to build

stronger connections with industry

professionals to aid in disseminat-

ing valuable research findings.

the true impact may never be

adequately measured. How do

you put a price tag on a person’s

hearing? ability to walk or live

without chronic pain or disease?

Or simply, to be alive?

How do you put a price tag on a person’s hearing? Ability to walk or live without chronic pain or disease? Or simply, to be alive?

impactimpactcPwr’s 17 on-going research projects have published in 14 different peer-reviewed journals.

“Every construction

worker needs to take this course.

It could save lives.”

‘Best thing our company ever did’ for a safer

work site.

impacta stORY OF

6

Research

testing, www.consol.mobi moved steadily toward its 2012 public debut. Will this be the innovation that saves the skin of countless construction workers? Stay tuned.

A Mobile Interface to Answer Safety and Health Questions

Construction Solutions Databaselead Researchers: Jim platner, phD, and chris le, mpH, cpWR

T he CPWR Construction Solu-tions database was designed

as an easy-to-use online tool for construction firms seeking ready-to-use answers to their health and safety questions and control options to address task-related hazards. This storehouse of information contains analyses of hundreds of common workplace hazards, from accidents waiting to happen to poorly de-signed equipment. For each hazard, the database offers one or more effective solutions, from alternative work techniques to commercially available tools. Platner and his team have worked without pause from the project’s 2004 inception to develop new solutions and make them simpler to find.

So when the mobile revolution hit the building industry, Platner saw an opportunity. Every superin-tendent and safety manager walking a construction site seemed to have a smart phone in hand. With Con-struction Solutions and their mobile phone, whenever a manager spotted a dangerous situation, the answer would be a click away. Could CPWR design the “killer app” of construc-tion health and safety?

The project was more compli-cated than it sounds. A true “app” would be downloaded, which would be a formidable challenge for the large and growing database. But the Construction Solutions website was designed for a much larger laptop or desktop display and was hard to read and use on a tiny smart phone.

Platner’s team instead created a mobile phone interface using the alternative .mobi website (instead of .com or .org), which is designed to be user-friendly on a handheld device. After a year of design and

When New labor safety liaisons in may saw men at work on this dodgy

scaffold in Newark, N.J., they approached the supervisors to fix the

problem – but they were brushed aside. seeing these workers in immi-

nent danger, they decided they had to contact OsHa.

Fortunately, the safety liaisons, who were trained by New labor and

researchers at Rutgers University, had worked hard to establish a relation-

ship with NJ OsHa field staff in

parsippany. When compliance

assistance specialist Beatriz

cabrera received the call from

Edison, a safety liaison, reporting

workers in imminent danger, she

knew that the call came from an

experienced construction worker

with OsHa-10 training, and that

there was no time to lose.

OsHa field staff went into

action immediately, verified the complaint and launched an investiga-

tion. OsHa recorded significant

violations and levied heavy fines

on both the masonry contractor

engaged in the work and the

general contractor who hired the

suspect firm. the investigation

is still open.

“thanks to their training, these

safety liaisons are highly credible

when they call in a report,”

explained cabrera. “We welcome

their help in identifying dangerous

work situations in the field.”

“ thanks to their training, these safety liaisons are highly credible when they call in a report. We welcome their help in identifying dangerous work situations in the field.”— Beatriz Cabrera, compliance assistance specialist, NJ OSHA field office

Safety Liaisons and Worker Training

New Labor safety liaisons may have saved these workers’ necks.

7

Breakthrough Research Leads to OSHA/NIOSH Guidance Document

Prevention of Nail Gun Injuries in Residential Constructionlead Researcher: Hester lipscomb, phD Duke University

T hanks to the work of Dr. Lip-scomb and her team, the haz-

ards of the contact trip nail gun, or “bump gun,” have reached a steadily wider audience in recent years. Her initial work with the Carpenters District Council for Greater St Louis documented a substantial risk of injury among residential carpen-ters. Analysis of National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS)

strates that the switch to the safer trigger and training cut nail gun injuries by an astonishing 50%. Training reduced injuries significant-ly but those using tools with contact triggers continued to have twice the injury rate of those using sequential trigger tools. Over the past year the team has moved its focus to West Virginia with the intent of replicat-ing the program with nonunion framing contractors there.

Meanwhile, the project team has reached out to numerous audiences, including contractors, unions, government safety and health officials, and workers’ compensation insurance carriers, speaking on the issue and distributing some 1,500 safety alerts. Longstanding conversa-tions have continued with tool manufacturers as well, urging them to limit production of framing nail guns to those with the safer sequen-tial trip trigger.

The safety campaign received a significant boost in August 2011 when NIOSH and OSHA jointly issued the guidance document, “Nail Gun Safety: A Guide for Construc-tion Contractors.” More than 15,000 printed copies of the guide, based largely on Dr. Lipscomb’s research, have been distributed; 250,000 visitors have accessed it on OSHA’s website, with thousands more going to the NIOSH website. 2011 also saw the rollout of www.nailgunfacts.org, a web resource sharing the latest information on nail gun hazards and safety.

Confronting Construction Safety’s Greatest Foe

Fall Prevention in Residential Constructionproject Director: Bradley Evanoff, mD, mpH Washington University

F alls are the number one killer of construction workers on the job,

and residential construction is noto-

rious for its high rate of workplace accidents. In the face of challenges posed by the sharp downturn in the residential construction market, Dr. Evanoff’s team is moving forward with a series of innovative fall pro-tection programs in construction.

Building on its earlier work providing enhanced fall prevention training to apprentice carpenters, the team is now reaching out to their supervisors – carpenter foremen. In addition, researchers began exploring a technology lending program intended to promote the use of new fall protection systems. The team developed and delivered a new fall protection and safety supervision training program with 27 carpenter foremen leading residential framing crews. The technology lending program has given contractors and foremen exposure to newly produced safety systems like the Wall Walker hanging scaffold and safety bar anchorages designed for personal fall arrest. Evanoff’s team continues its alliance with the Carpenters’ Joint Apprenticeship Program, as research-ers perform follow-up surveys of 300 apprentices per year who participat-ed in their new fall prevention curriculum.

Initial results of these projects have been promising. One contract-ing firm participating in the project changed its work practices to ensure that its workers are protected from falls when working at heights throughout all phases of home

the switch to the safer sequential trigger plus training cut nail gun injuries by an astonishing 50%.

Nailgunfacts.org launched in late 2011 to provide training tools, promote safe work practices and raise the profile of the tools most likely to cause injury.

data indicated that nail gun acci-dents send 37,000 to U.S. emergen-cy rooms every year, further indicat-ing that nail guns are a significant danger to carpenters and consumers alike. Risk of injury is twice as high among users of a tool with a contact trigger.

Training was initiated by the Carpenters Joint Apprenticeship Program in St Louis in response to these findings, and contractors were encouraged to provide carpenters with tools with the safer sequential trigger. The sequential trip trigger requires that the nose piece of the contact be depressed prior to pulling the trigger, reducing the chance of injuries from inadvertent firings.

Continuing surveillance demon-

8

Research

construction. This contractor also adopted new toolbox talk procedures to prepare workers for the work tasks and conditions anticipated that day. Many contractors have borrowed the fall prevention technologies, and several have purchased the equip-ment and adopted new work practices as a result. Meanwhile, the team is working with the Carpenters Joint Apprenticeship Program to update the training curriculum in light of updated OSHA enforcement procedures covering fall protection in residential construction.

Construction Workers Take the Initiative for Safe Conditions

Enhancing Safety through Leadershiplead Researcher: John Rosecrance, phD colorado state University

T here aren’t enough effective safety managers to develop

and sustain a culture of safety that permeates every workplace at every moment. But when workers acquire leadership skills in this area, mo-mentary attention when the safety manager walks the site can be re-placed by a culture in which skilled tradesmen and women take the initiative on safety issues throughout the day. Rosecrance and his team set out to identify the leadership skills that workers need to be effective safety advocates on the job. Having done so, the team is developing a curriculum to teach these skills to apprentices, journeymen, and fore-men in the construction industry.

In late 2010, the project team held focus groups and collected survey data from workers recruited from multiple local unions of the United Association of Plumbers and

jobsite. Early results of these surveys suggest that ergonomic climate is strongly correlated with reduced injury and accident reports.

Creating Products that Communicate Research Findings

Dissemination & Communicationslead Researcher: mary Watters, mFa, cpWR

T he project to redesign and restructure eLCOSH, CPWR’s

flagship communications tool for disseminating research findings to a worldwide audience, made signifi-cant progress in 2011. The eLCOSH renovation team engaged 58 people (trainers, safety and health profes-sionals, and academics) in eight different developmental testing activities – from initial testing of cat-egories and prioritization of home page content to testing various ver-sions of an eLCOSH prototype and finalizing that prototype. The tests were conducted at CPWR, at a Min-nesota training center and remote sites across the country using online meeting tools. The team’s proto-type of the “new” eLCOSH received extremely positive receptions with members of the initial brainstorming group, the eLCOSH Working Group.

Pipefitters, and from contractors who work with the union. Participants shared stories of critical incidents and helped identify the barriers that workers faced in speaking up for safe practices. The findings were used to generate a pilot training program in safety leadership that was tested at a large mechanical contractor in spring 2011. The experience gained during this pilot program is cur-rently being used to refine and update the safety leadership curricu-lum. The team will run the refined training program in 2012 with various unions and contractors throughout the United States.

A supplemental project involves the design of an effective tool for evaluating ergonomic climate in the workplace. In recent years, social scientists have designed effective surveys to measure a work site’s “safety climate” – how well supervi-sors and workers understand safe work practices, and what priority they assign them – but no similar tool is available for ergonomics. The team has held focus group meetings with Denver area construction superintendents and extensive sessions with employees and managers involved in the skilled trades. The result is a tool for measuring ergonomic climate on a

Colorado State University student Krista Hoffmeister works with Dan Wisner, an ergonomics engineer at John Deere Des Moines Works, to distribute the ergonomic climate surveys.

impacta stORY OF

9

The next step for the renovation team was to work with web devel-oper Conceptual Arts to confirm the specifications document, which would ensure programming would meet the structure and format of the new site. Meanwhile, the team

2011, it was one of many projects undertaken and executed during the year. Highlights from the year include a new project to develop short pieces to show the impact of CPWR’s research. The first Impact card was produced in November and featured the work of Dr. David Rempel’s project on the overhead drilling device. Many more cards are planned. Also in 2011, the Depart-ment created and tested a new style of Hazard Alert card and chose Silica. Upon its completion, BCTD unions began placing orders for the card, quickly running through the initial printing of 10,000 cards. The Communications Department is working with union international safety and health representatives to identify all the places the cards will be disseminated and used – while taking orders to reprint the popular card.

Also of note, Communications staff created an electronic newsletter to keep interested stakeholders up-to-date on CPWR research activities and training aids. The first “CPWR Update” was sent in early September 2011. Communication staff pursued a number of outreach efforts to increase readership, and now more than 1,600 people receive the electronic publication.

Danger to Workers More Pronounced than Often Understood

Data Center Analysis Documents Risk of Disability, Death and Accident on the Construction Sitelead Researcher: Xiuwen (sue) Dong, DrpH, cpWR

Aging Construction Workers Face Alarming Physical Impairments

Dong and her team analyzed the health impairments of more than 7,000 workers aged 50 or older in 1998, then for the same workers in

confirmed its own transition docu-ments and process to ensure the recategorizing the 1,000-plus items on eLCOSH would work smoothly.

While the eLCOSH renovation project was the prime work of the Communications Department in

Reducing Pain, Fatigue and Dust

Environmental management solutions of New York (Ems) faced a vexing challenge. On the 30th and 31st floors of a high rise, the crew was to drill 150 large-diameter holes in concrete slab ceilings, quickly and efficiently.

“the work was ungainly and unsafe when done by hand on a ladder,” said company cEO marco pedone. “it was difficult to get the hole drilled right, and within five minutes the workers were covered in dust.”

an online search led pedone to the Uc san Francisco Ergo-nomics project and its cpWR-funded inverted Drill press, which operates from floor level and lessens musculoskeletal injury by taking the tool out of workers’ hands and elevating it to ceiling

height on a telescoping mount. the drill also features a dust-control system to capture deadly silica dust.

Within days the Ems crew had an inverted Drill running on site.

“Our experience with the Drill has been nothing but good,” pedone said. “it is a comfortable way to drill holes, and it is a time-saver. a job that would have taken four or five workers two weeks ended up taking three guys four-and-a-half days.

“Everybody who saw it in action asked where they could get one.”

contractors seeking the inverted Drill press can now find a slightly modified version of the tool from safety equipment manufacturer telpro, inc.

“a job that would have taken four or five work-ers two weeks ended up taking three guys four-and-a-half days.”— Dr. Marco Pedone, President

and CEO of EMS, clinical professor of environmental and safety engineering, Columbia University.

The Inverted Drill Press (left) is now commercially available in a modified form through Telpro, Inc.

10

Research

tion worker safety and health with a close study of disparities between Hispanic and white, non-Hispanic construction workers, they noticed something remarkable. The trend lines on occupational fatalities and on occupational injuries, particularly for Hispanic workers, were moving in sharply different directions. Between 1992 and 2006, reported fatalities continued to climb, while reported injuries rapidly declined. What could be happening?

A closer look at the data showed that the contradictory reports were coming, for the most part, from the smallest contractors – those employ-ing 10 or fewer workers accounted for nearly half of construction fatalities but less than one fifth of reported lost workday injuries!

2008. Of the sample, 510 were identified as construction workers and 2,501 as white-collar workers. The team’s findings, though perhaps not unexpected, were profound: con-struction workers were significantly more likely to report persistently higher rates of a variety of illnesses and injuries, including arthritis, chronic lung diseases and strokes.

Older construction workers were also more likely to report that their health problems limited their ability to work. In light of current proposals regarding increasing the retirement age, this is a crucial finding. It seems that workers in our most physically demanding jobs are suffering the greatest health impairments with age. Is it realistic to expect a plumber or ironworker to work at the calling until age 70 in order to receive Social Security benefits?

An Epidemic of Injury Underreporting by Small Contractors?

When Dong’s team began to put together measurements of construc-

Researchers suspect that while fatal accidents are too difficult to hide, a growing number of small contractors are failing to report the accidents that don’t result in a fatality, even serious ones. Dong and her team esti-mate that some 50% of lost workday injuries at these small contractors – over 42,000 per year – go unreported. For Hispanic workers, disproportion-ately employed at these firms, that share is an astonishing 75%.

A Lifetime of Exposure to Danger Means that Career Construction Workers Can Expect a Severe Accident

The Data Center recently released some startling statistics. Using multiple years of data from several national sources, they estimated that over a 45-year career a construction worker has a 75% likelihood of experiencing a severe injury. Additionally, over the course of a career, a construction worker has a one in 200 chance of being fatally injured on the job. A Hispanic construction worker has a 20% higher likelihood of dying from a work-related injury than his white, non-Hispanic counterpart. The study also reveals that an individual who begins construction work at the age of 20 has a 15% chance of develop-ing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease over a lifetime.

Helping Workers Live Longer and Work Smarter with Local Exhaust Ventilation

Minimizing Exposures to Dusts and Fume in Constructionlead Researcher: pam susi, mspH, cpWR

Occupational health experts agree: the best way to control

dangerous dusts and fume is to eliminate or capture the dust at the source. Pam Susi, MSPH, is assem-

over a 45-year career a construction worker has a 75% likelihood of experiencing a severe injury.

source: Dong, X., Wang X., Daw, c., and Ringen, K., 2011, chronic Diseases and Functional limitations among Older construction Workers in the United states: a 10-Year Follow-Up study. J Occup Environ med. apr;53(4):372-80.

prevalence of Health Outcomes: construction trades vs. White-collar Workers (age 60 or older), 2008

prevalence

arthritis66.2%

54.1%

Back problems

lung Diseases

strokes

Health problemlimits Work

Fair/poor Hearing

36.3%

27.7%

15.2%

8.2%

13.2%

9.2%

36.3%

23.6%

29.7%

20.7%

construction trades

White-collar Workers

impacta stORY OF

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bling alliances of stakeholders to work toward that goal. Bringing together contractors, labor organi-zations, equipment manufacturers, academic researchers and govern-ment agencies, her team is evaluat-ing commercially available local exhaust ventilation (LEV) technolo-gies that could protect workers from deadly silica dust and toxic welding fumes – and planning how to make LEV use a standard industry practice. Susi shared her critical foundational research on LEV tools in March 2011 with the CPWR/NIOSH Engineering Controls Work Group, co-chaired by CPWR and NIOSH.

Susi’s team, which includes researchers from Harvard, the University of Puerto Rico, Florida International University and a number of top notch industrial hygienists from around the country, has assembled two Partnerships for Advancing Control Technologies (PACTs): a welding PACT and a silica/tuckpointing PACT. Both have held well-attended initial meetings in which a broad cross-section of stakeholders was represented. The groups collaborated to draw up lists of promising LEV systems for their respective focus – welding and tuck-pointing – and identified the most important criteria used in the selection of such systems. Using the results and continued input from the PACTs, the team will soon begin testing the effectiveness of the three most highly rated LEV systems avail-able on the market.

But no tool operates itself; welders must understand the hazards of welding fumes and the proper use of LEV if they are to be effective. Since a large proportion of America’s boilermakers, plumbers, pipefitters, sheet metal workers, and structural steel erectors learn their trade through joint apprenticeship and training programs, cooperating with these groups is essential to

eLCOSH and the 1,000 Words

Facts and figures are a mainstay of safety and health instruction, but trainers know a picture is worth a thousand words. cpWR’s electronic library of construction Occupational safety and Health, elcOsH (www.elcosh.org), contains more than 1,000 items, plus hundreds of photos. OsHa’s carlos gallegos, an avid elcOsH user, finds the images in the elcOsH site are his treasures.

gallegos is in good company. From its launch in august 2000 until august 2011, the elcOsH website received more than 5 million visitors. in December of 2011 alone, the site had 49,424 visits from 172 countries and territories.

although gallegos recently returned to OsHa enforcement, he spent three years teaching more than 1,000 compliance officers at the chicago-based OsHa training institute in courses

including accident investigation, electrical standards, scaffolding and excavation.

“One time i was looking for a very specific image,” gallegos said. “i was teaching about the excavation standard on hazardous lateral movement, and i needed to show workers next to a pipe in a trench. For the life of me i couldn’t find a photo like that among our own materials, but i found it on elcOsH. the pipe was gigantic and a cave-in would make the trench box move, creating a danger for the workers. i was able to use it to show a hazard that is almost impossible for

compliance officers to document in the field,” gallegos said.“When you can get a photo that demonstrates exactly the

lesson you are teaching, it’s magic.” gallegos says he puts elcOsH stickers “all over the place,” and

he gladly advised cpWR on its recent overhaul of the 11-year-old elcOsH site – which will soon provide an improved user experi-ence for its wordwide audience.

OSHA Instructor Carlos Gallegos delivers at a workshop for international safety & health officers.

Gallegos’ search ended on eLCOSH with this photo showing a poorly installed shield that would not restrict hazardous lateral movement.

impacta stORY OF

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Research

equip workers with the skills necessary to use this equipment as it moves from research to practice. That’s why the team recruited and assembled a Training Advisory Group from the Ironworkers, Boilermakers, Sheet Metal Workers, and United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters (NIOSH representa-tives also participate). The group first surveyed local apprenticeship directors to assess current instruc-tion and practice related to LEV use. Approximately 60% of respondents said LEV was rarely or never used in their area. The team then developed a draft training module and is now revising the draft based on the input of fourth-year apprentice pipefitters. The pilot training program will be field tested in three regions of the U.S. and finalized with input from the Advisory Group.

Immigrant Day Laborers and Peer-to-Peer Safety Training

Evaluating the Efficacy of Safety Liaisons and Worker Traininglead Researcher: michele Ochsner, phD Rutgers University

Over the past year, the team at Rutgers Occupational Training

and Education Consortium (OTEC) and New Labor made significant progress in developing a network of safety liaisons among day laborers in northern New Jersey. The safety liaison program was designed to recruit a team of potential safety leaders to be peer trainers of day laborers and identify safety hazards on job sites. Once trained, these safety liaisons would be capable of monitoring safety conditions in North Jersey residential construction sites, educating their peers on

No one knows the gravity of the safety crisis over nail guns better than Dennis patterson and James Nolan. the two retired st. louis carpenters have interviewed some 500 apprentices about injuries they suffered using these ubiquitous tools.

most often, the injuries come through the use of guns with a contact-trip trigger – a mechanism that can fire nine nails per second, since firing occurs whenever the gun tip and trigger are

both depressed. some 40,000 people go to emergency rooms per year with nail gun injuries; more than 60% are construction workers.

the stories are heart-wrenching enough to read about, but “when you’re sitting across from someone face to face, that is very telling,” patterson said.

led by Duke University medical center researcher Hester lipscomb, the study showed that nail gun models with sequential trigger mechanisms are much safer. Eliminating the contact trip guns and training workers on the sequen-tial trigger likely would make a huge dent in the injury toll.

“the contact trip triggers are just too fast,” says Nolan, venting frustration at the unnecessary injuries. “this isn’t right. it isn’t fair to our youngsters.”

Because of the guns’ wide consumer use, mainstream media noticed the research. the Sacramento Bee published investigative articles and a gripping account of a fatal injury. more important, OsHa and NiOsH jointly issued a comprehensive guidance document in 2011, advising on sequential trigger use.

Nolan received the best kind of evidence that his work is bearing fruit. “the safety officer for the largest home-builder in missouri told me that getting rid of the contact trip trigger nail gun was ‘the best thing our company ever did’ for a safer worksite,” Nolan said.

Hester Lipscomb (top) leads the research team that includes Dennis Patterson and James Nolan.

‘Best thing our company ever did ...‘

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Investigating Spray- Foam Insulation and Occupational Asthma

Assessment and Prevention of Isocyanate Exposures in the Construction Industrylead Researcher: carrie Redlich, mD, mpH Yale University

T he popularity of polyurethane spray-foam insulation is grow-

ing by leaps and bounds. A highly effective insulation, it is popular with homeowners, businesses and government agencies who want to cut utility bills and environmen-talists who want to reduce energy consumption. But how safe is it for the workers who apply it?

Carrie Redlich is taking a close look at this question. The major polyurethane spray foams contain isocyanates, tertiary amine catalysts, blowing agents, and other chemi-cals. Isocyanates, potent sensitizers, are one of the leading causes of occupational asthma; amines can irritate mucous membranes and cause blurred vision.

The project has moved out of the lab and into the field. Among the few dozen workers surveyed, the team has confirmed three cases of isocyanate asthma. Workers who

health and safety issues, and inter-vening when they witnessed job site hazards.

The safety liaison program is part of a series of projects based on peer-led training programs aimed at immigrant day laborers in light of their increased profile in the residential construction workforce. Stepping up from the role of safety trainer to safety liaison was a significant shift for the workplace activists, who were now expected to exercise judgment and initiative in the field. When spotting an obvious safety hazard, they would have to decide: should I approach the supervisor or foreman to resolve the situation? Should I urge the trades-men and the tradeswoman to stop work until the hazard is removed? Should I go so far as to contact OSHA and make a report?

The liaisons have begun organizing regular ‘consejos’ or ‘worker councils’ every three weeks featuring demonstrations of safety issues as well as strategy discussions. The liaisons have also performed more than 100 “curbside safety audits” documenting predominant industry safety hazards, finding that 56% of scaffolds had a level, stable base but only 23% featured fall protection. Hard hats were provided and worn on fewer than 40% of job sites.

Interventions by the liaisons have eliminated major hazards from multiple worksites (see page 6 IMPACT). For those cases in which contractors refuse to fix dangerous work situations, the liaisons have established a regular relationship with the regional OSHA office through a bilingual staff representative. Five complaints are currently under OSHA investigation following referral by safety liaisons, and in one case a fine has already been imposed.

contract asthma from this exposure may never fully recover: although their symptoms may diminish, their asthma may persist after they leave insulation work. Unfortunately, once such workers develop asthma, exposures such as dusts, particulates, fumes, and cold weather can exacerbate their asthma, making employment in other segments of the construction industry difficult.

Making Concrete Drilling Easier

Highway and Bridge Construction Drillinglead Researcher: David Rempel, mD, mpH University of california, san Francisco

W ith insights gained from the success of his overhead

drill press (see page 9 IMPACT), Dr. David Rempel has pivoted to an even heavier project. Rempel’s team is developing a new device to help construction laborers better wield 30-lb. pneumatic rock drills and 20-lb. electric combi hammers used to renovate bridges or buildings.

A “seismic upgrade” to prepare a large structure to resist earthquakes, or renovation of an overpass bearing tens of thousands of vehicles per day, frequently requires pouring new supporting concrete that must be “tied in” to the original structure. This means drilling large diameter holes in the concrete – often tens of thousands of them – in order to insert heavy rebar dowels. Rempel’s new “highway drill jig” permits a machine, rather than the laborer’s body, to absorb the punishing forces generated by the job. Field testing of prototypes is underway at UC Berkeley’s Memorial Stadium, and the device has already been em-ployed on bridge and tunnel jobs as well.

But the stress on the body of a vibrating 30-lb. tool that must be held in place and guided isn’t the

Redlich’s team wants to know … how safe is spray foam insulation for the workers using it?

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Research right angle for 20 minutes or more at a time welding the floor-level studs, a posture virtually guaranteed to produce serious back pain. Ironworkers also could be exposed to dangerous levels of toxic welding fume while engaged in this task.

Nathan Fethke and his team at the University of Iowa received a CPWR Small Study Grant to explore just how physically demanding this task was on the body. The team measured workers’ posture and muscle effort using the conventional approach and compared the results with an alternative, tool-based technique already in use by some contractors. The alternative device is a mobile cart with an adjustable arm

construction projects, comparing the new leading-indicator reward program at one site with a more traditional program at the other.

During the new worker safety orientation, tradesmen and trades-women were briefed on a safety incentive award program based not on recorded injuries but on the result of workplace safety audits by the site owner. If the monthly overall site safety score at the leading-indicator site exceeded 96.3%, all workers would receive a free lunch and be eligible to partici-pate in a free one-month parking spot raffle, giving workers an incentive to take preemptive action for safety. At the traditional site, the rewards depended on achieving 60 injury-free days.

Based on feedback and experi-ence from this trial run, researchers have modified the program for full-scale testing. Now branded as “Building Safety for Everyone: Building Safety for Every-one” and featuring a full comple-ment of tool box talks, hard hat stickers and other supports, it will be tested against traditional lagging-incentive programs over the next three years. By evaluating the performance of both systems in safety audits, the researchers hope to gain valuable insight about the efficacy of both leading and lagging indicator safety incentive programs.

Saving Ironworkers’ Backs and Lungs

Ergonomics and Welding Fume Exposure during Stud Weldinglead Researcher: Nathan Fethke, phD University of iowa

Stud welding is a grueling, repetitive task for the ironwork-

ers who perform it, whether on a beam for a bridge span or on the steel decking for the concrete floor of a commercial building. The worker is hunched over at almost a

only hazard. Drilling into concrete produces dust laden with deadly crystalline silica. So the team has created a tool designed to accommo-date a cowl and dust capture system that promises to reduce workers’ inhalation of silica in the course of the work. Tests of the dust control element at the Laborers training center in Alameda County, Calif., have successfully brought silica exposure levels below limits recom-mended by the National Institute on Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Rewarding Safety without Discouraging Incident Reporting

Effectiveness of Employee Safety Incentives in Constructionlead Researcher: Jack Dennerlein, phD Harvard University

I f the superintendent gives work crews a reward or bonus for work-

ing 60 days without a recorded in-jury, is he encouraging workers to be safe – or just to keep accidents and injuries off the record? How can you tell? In the health and safety field, and much of the building industry, there is a widespread concern that traditional behavior-based incentive programs don’t work. There is an acknowledged desire for an empiri-cally proven alternative.

Jack Dennerlein and his team at Harvard have designed a study that intends to do both, by focusing on leading rather than lagging indicators of safe practices, and creating a reward program based on leading indicators, eliminating the perverse incentive to underreport injuries. Over the past year, Dennerlein’s team put the program through a trial run on two major Harvard-owned New method: No stooping, no fume.

Traditional method: Toxic fume and aching backs.

impacta stORY OF

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Preventing Falls

if you ask andy smoka to name the ideal place to show the DVD Don’t Fall For It!, his answer just may be “yes.”

as an early adopter of cpWR’s 11-minute industry-standard ladder safety program, smoka keeps Don’t Fall For It! in his training toolbox for myriad uses. it’s critical in an industry where falls are the leading cause of death, and where ladders cause nearly one-fourth of fall injuries.

smoka is the principal safety consultant for minnesota OsHa consultation, with some 40 years in the field. His work touches apprentices, foremen, building owners and everyone in between. He presents the DVD during closing conferences following inspec-tions, in OsHa-500 training sessions, in mandatory re-license

sessions for contractors, and in on-request awareness sessions for students and others. more than 1,100 people have viewed it as part of smoka’s training sessions, he estimates; 600 were contrac-tors going for their license renewals.

While those viewings most often have occurred in classrooms, he adds, “if i see any situation where a person misuses a ladder, i will pull out my laptop and show

the DVD in a jobsite office. i’ll show the foremen and leave copies so they can play it for the rest of the workers.”

Don’t Fall For It! is an eye-opener for many who insist that they already know all the ladder-safety rules before watching the DVD. at the very least, it “reminds workers of what they’re supposed to do” to work safely, smoka says.

and the need is great. “We’ve had two fatalities of workers who were standing on top of a two-foot-high stepladder.”

unreported. Moreover, turning from such “lagging indicators” to “leading indicators,” like adoption of best practices, can put the industry a step ahead, intervening before accidents happen rather than just counting them later.

to hold the arc welder, allowing workers to weld in an upright position, reducing back strain and possibly fume inhalation. Research-ers confirmed that the tool offered relief to workers’ backs but that manipulating the adjustable arm increased demands on their shoulder muscles. The manufacturer respond-ed to these findings and is modify-ing the tool.

Fethke’s promising findings from the pilot study led him to seek – and receive – CPWR support for a comprehensive follow-up study. The team will measure workers’ exposure to welding fumes using the two methods and repeat his measure-ments of posture and muscle effort with a larger sample of ironworkers.

Seeking a Better Way to Measure Health and Safety Performance

Safety and Health Metricslead Researcher: Janie gittleman, phD cpWR

A s a construction contractor, how can you tell if your team

is meeting the mark in health and safety? Up until now the building industry has lacked a useful, consis-tent, and objective system of health and safety metrics for assessing firm performance. Securing one is the ambitious goal of Dr. Gittleman’s project.

Gittleman has assembled a wide-ranging Metrics Advisory Committee including not just general contractors and construction owners, but health and safety consultants, academics, insurance company representatives, and federal, state and local government regulators. Their task was to find measurements that went beyond factors like recorded injuries – which at best offer only a retrospective measurement of safety, and often not even that when injuries go

The researchers organized focus groups with hundreds of construc-tion firms, small and large, from every part of the United States, that rated hundreds of potential metrics proposed by the advisory commit-tee. They found a remarkable degree

Principal Safety Consultant Andy Smoka, Minnesota OSHA Consultation

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Research

ships for prevention. A newly established r2p Working Group with representatives from CPWR, OSHA and NIOSH coordinates and enhances the r2p efforts.

In recent years a partnership of labor, management, government

of consensus on the 12 most important areas for evaluating safety conditions and practices before an accident occurs:

• Accountabilityofsupervisors for their safety responsibilities

• Inclusionofsafetyandhealth in project planning

• Reportingofunsafeconditions by employees

• Involvementofemployeesinjobhazard analysis

• Site-specifichazardtrainingforeveryone on the job

• Pre-tasksafetyandhealthbriefings

• Eliminationofhazardsandrisks

• Creatingandfollowingsafe work procedures

• Site-specifictrainingforsafety

• Employeeknowledgeof construction hazards

• Employeeabilitytoidentifyhazards

• Newemployeeorientation and training

The next challenge for Gittleman and her team is to create valid measurements for each of the 12 categories and to test them in the field. Twenty-three contractors across the United States have already committed to participate.

Translating Research Into Action

r2p: “Research to Practice” lead Researcher: Robin Baker, mpH, cpWR

I n the fall of 2010, CPWR launched a new effort to amplify

the impact of construction health and safety research. The Research to Practice (r2p) program seeks to link researchers with those who make health and safety decisions “in

the trenches and on the steel.” A three-pronged approach includes: developing effective dissemination plans for current and completed research, launching research transla-tion projects for high priority findings, and promoting partner-

‘A Critical Reference‘

One of cpWR’s most-requested products is The Construction Chart Book: The U.S. Construction Industry and Its Workers.

High demand for its reliable data interpre-tations and engaging graphics on economics, employment, training, and safety and health has confirmed the chart Book’s status as “…a critical reference source for anyone…interested in the construction industry and its workers,” according to David Weil of Harvard University’s Kennedy school of government and the Boston University school of management.

cpWR has distributed some 2,600 print copies of the book’s fourth edition since its 2008 release. Registered with the library of congress, the chart Book is offered on amazon.com, Yankee Book peddler’s a-plus list, and World cat. academic listserves and industry, labor and government press all have spread the word of the book’s availability.

also in 2008, the chart Book was posted on cpwr.com and on the elcOsH online database. it has received a combined 45,132 page-views at the two sites.

When viewed online, the chart Book material is especially rich. it includes hot links to source data from the Bureau of labor statis-tics and charts that are available in presentation-ready powerpoint.

Each year, about a dozen peer-reviewed journal articles have cited chart Book information. its data has been referenced in several reports by the National academies press and in numerous other publications, including a report on latinos in construction by the National council of la Raza, a Rhode island examination of the construction skills gap, a cornell study on project labor agreements in New York, and an article on advances in dissemination of safety information by EHS Today.

a fifth edition of the chart Book is scheduled to roll out by early 2013.

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agencies, manufacturers and occupa-tional health professionals helped reduce paving workers’ exposure to hazardous asphalt fumes. In 2011, the r2p Group began an in-depth case study of the asphalt partnership as a model of successful action, and sponsored the first of several new partnerships – the Masonry r2p Partnership (see below). Partnerships targeting fall prevention among Latino workers are in formation.

CPWR’s r2p staff has designed a systematic approach for reviewing and prioritizing research for r2p, inspiring quick starts for three critical projects:

• Tech Transfer. Too often, it seems, promising safety innova-tions remain isolated on univer-sity campuses while industry soldiers on with yesterday’s techniques – and construction workers pay the price in unneces-sary injuries. The technology transfer initiative seeks to smooth the path from the classroom to the construction site for tech-nologies that advance worker safety. A May 2012 symposium bringing together academic researchers and construction professionals with equipment tool manufacturers will explore drivers and barriers for technol-ogy transfer in our industry.

• Silica-safe Website. Significant research is available on silica exposures and related controls. The research findings as well as information on controls devel-oped in response are dispersed throughout many different websites and publications. As a result, many stakeholders are still unaware of the seriousness of the hazard and believe it is not feasible to control silica dust. This new website will address these misperceptions by providing a one-stop, user-friendly source of practical information for contrac-

tors, workers and other stake-holders to use to identify silica exposures and controls, and put them into practice.

• Nail Gun Facts. Thanks to the work of Dr. Lipscomb and her team, word is getting out about the thousands of workers who visit emergency rooms each year due to the contact-trip trigger nail gun, or “bump gun.” In 2011 Lipscomb’s research informed a joint NIOSH-OSHA guidance document, “Nail Gun Safety: A Guide for Construction Contrac-tors.” Several months later, Lipscomb’s team launched a new website, www.nailgunfacts.org. (For details, see Dr. Lipscomb’s report on page 7.) The r2p Working Group is working to get these vital resources out in the industry.

Making Masonry Safer with an r2p Industry Partnership

The key to moving research to practice in the construction industry is a successful partnership with major industry stakeholders. Without buy-in from workers and contractors, the most promising

safety and health innovations may never leave the pages of a journal or become commercially available.

The Masonry Industry Research to Practice (r2p) Partnership is a pioneering effort to build such a partnership from the ground up. In 2011 representatives from the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, the International Council of Employers and the International Masonry Institute, developed a list of craft-specific occupational hazards and interventions and reviewed them with more than 100 labor and management representatives to establish safety and health priori-ties. This list of priorities will guide the Partnership’s efforts in 2012 and beyond.

One area where both workers and contractors see promise is a greater use of powered “mast climbing” or other adjustable scaffolds. Such scaffolding enables workers to perform work between knee and shoulder height – reducing the risk of musculoskeletal injuries and often improving productivity as well. To encourage contractors to consider mast climbers and to promote the safe use of this type of scaffold the Partnership launched a new mast climber website. This one-stop resource includes information on the productivity benefits, new research, safety and training pro-grams, purchasing and rental resources, rules and regulations, and related news articles. Informa-tion on mast climbers generated by the Partnership is available on the CPWR website and has been published in both union and trade publications.

In other areas the Partnership:

• documentedandevaluatedtheiractivities and progress in order to develop a model r2p partnership,

• initiateddiscussionswithequipment manufacturers to

Dr. Hester Lipscomb’s research on nail guns provided the basis for an OSHA-NIOSH guidance document on nail gun safety for contractors.

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Research

address safety issues surrounding masonry tools and equipment,

• surveyedmasonrycontractors and workers to establish baseline industry measures of health and safety practices, and

• workedwithotherCPWRteams to evaluate engineering controls to reduce workers’ exposure to airborne silica.

Working with Business and Labor for Better Respiratory and Hearing Protection

Partnering to Prevent Exposure to Silica, Dust and Noise in Construction and Demolitionproject Director: susan Woskie, phD University of massachusetts, lowell

C ivil construction and “knock-down” building demolition

often call for breaking up significant volumes of concrete and masonry. Such work means a construction site thick with jackhammers, compres-sors, and perhaps wrecking balls or other heavy equipment. For laborers employed there it also often means heavy exposure to two well-estab-lished workplace hazards: airborne crystalline silica dust and excessive noise levels. Consequently, too many construction workers face an old age marred by lung damage and hearing loss.

Dr. Susan Woskie and Dr. Susan Shepherd of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell are working with civil contractors and laborers represented by the Laborers’ District Council to test multiple methods of dust control on the job. Dr. Shepherd has designed an “air curtain” dust control for the job site: this device minimizes the

spread of dust by creating a wall of high-pressure airflow, and is undergoing field testing by a bridge substructure repair contrac-tor. Meanwhile, researchers are working with a large demolition contractor to test whether supple-mental water pressure can increase the efficacy of water cannons in suppressing dust. The research team also is creating a database of commercially available dust controls for hand tools.

On the noise reduction front, the University of Massachusetts, Lowell team identified leaking air hoses as a major – and easily remedied – con-tributor to noise hazards on sites with pneumatic tools in use. Researchers are working with the contractors to assess the perfor-mance of ”noise-perimeter zone control” strategies in which areas with dangerous noise levels are identified, marked and designated for limited access.

Work Shouldn’t Be a Chronic Pain

Participatory Ergonomicslead Researcher: laura Welch, mD, cpWR

E very year, tens of thousands of construction workers suffer

sprains, strains and cumulative stress/repetitive motion musculosk-eletal problems that cost days off work. An even greater number of workers endure chronic pain without taking a day off – too often, earning their weekly paycheck by enduring permanent physical damage. Identifying the characteris-tic tasks of each trade most punish-ing for the human body, and proposing alternatives, can’t be done in the lab alone. It’s best achieved through participatory ergonomics that relies on the insights of workers and contractors in the field to identify problems and seek practical solutions.

During 2011, Dr. Welch’s co-investigators at Washington Univer-sity in St. Louis worked with the St. Louis-area District Council of Carpenters and a group of floor-laying contractors whose workers are represented by the union. A close analysis of Carpenters’ health insurance fund claims will in time provide clues to the joints and body parts most at risk. An initial review has shown that the Carpenters’ health and welfare fund, rather than the workers’ comp carrier, is bearing most of the costs of treating these job-related injuries.

The carpenters were often able to identify not just the location of the discomfort and MSDs they experienced laying carpet and tile, but also commercially available solutions – like substituting a mechanical carpet stretcher for a knee-kicker when stretching carpet tight before tacking it down. How-ever, a number of available ergonom-ic solutions remain on the shelf – or the showroom, such as the powered, ride-on floor scraper used to remove old tile when remodeling. The team is currently identifying barriers that keep firms and employees from adopting these ergonomic solutions as standard industry practices.

Breaking tile, not backs, can be done with a ride-on floor scraper, the “Terminator.”

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simply to preserve their own health. Researcher: Debra chaplan, ms, state Building and construction trades council of california.

• Latino construction workers in Illinois filing workers’ compensation insurance claims received significantly smaller awards than white, non-Hispanic workers with similar injuries. this discovery emerged after researchers linked findings from the illinois Workers compensation commission with two medical record databases: the illinois trauma Registry and the Hospital Discharge Database. Researcher: lee Freidman, phD, University of illinois at chicago.

• Green building may expose workers to additional dangers on the job. several lEED (leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) credits promoted by the Us green Building council are associated with increased risk exposure – for instance, installing solar panels and green roofs can mean complicated procedures performed at dangerous heights. in interviews, contractors and engineering professionals involved in green building projects perceived a 36% increase in lacerations, strains and sprains from recycling construction materials; a 24% increase in falls to lower level during roof work because of the installation of on-site renewable energy (e.g., pV panels); a 19% increase in eye strain when installing reflective roof membranes; and a 14% increase in exposure to harmful substances when installing innovative wastewater technologies. Researcher: matthew Hallowell, phD, University of colorado.

the cpWR small studies program is a little like venture capital for safety and health scholars. applicants submit proposals for novel exploratory research projects with a budget of up to $30,000. these theory-building exercises can pave the way for a full-scale study – or illustrate unforeseen problems with an innovative idea.

small studies can test big ideas. a survey of 2004-2009 small study authors found that over 60% had published their findings in peer-reviewed journals, and a similar number reported that their small study work led to additional research proposals. Notable 2011 small study discoveries included:

• Workers’ compensation claims filed by older workers were significantly more costly than those filed by their younger counterparts. Observers of the aging construction workforce will be interested to learn that the medical costs of a claim increased 1.1% for each year’s increase in age over 18, and the indemnity costs of a claim – largely, lost wages and benefits – increased 3.5% for each year. (since other researchers have demonstrated that older workers file claims less frequently than younger workers, it is not possible to say which group is actually generates higher per capita costs.) Researcher: John Rosecrance, phD, colorado state University.

• Motivating positive ergonomic changes in the industry may require two distinct campaigns, one targeted at employers and another at workers. Researchers in california found that contractors needed to be assured that ergonomic tools would not reduce worker productivity, but were receptive if they promised to reduce workers comp insurance costs. Workers – who often prided themselves on the ability to work through pain – said that they would be more likely to adopt ergonomic techniques “for their families” and because they “couldn’t afford to get injured” than

Big Findings in CPWR Small Studies

Installing solar panels to save the planet also comes with associated risk.

Research

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training

Delivering critical safety and

health information to apprentices,

journeyworkers and even

contractors is not necessarily

an easy task. as any teacher,

professor or instructor knows,

adult learners are often eager for

information, particularly if they’ve

chosen the class. But even the

most attentive student can get

bleary-eyed watching a lengthy

powerpoint presentation or

listening to a lecture-only format.

cpWR understands adult

learners – and has understood

them from day one. Our trainers

understand people in the building

trades because our trainers are the

building trades. they live and

breathe the peer-led training

model. their students engage in

interactive learning experiences

through hands-on manipulation

of equipment and real-world

situations. instructors put the

learning in context: students share

the hazards they’ve encountered at

work or break into groups to assess

controls for a safety problem or

health threat. they participate in

simulations to know how to handle

a critical situation when it happens.

this is the model used in all cpWR

programs: hazardous waste

removal, confined space, general

safety training, and disaster

response. the impact of cpWR

training is obvious in what the

students and trainers say. the

impact that’s not obvious is the

“fall that didn’t happen” because

of ladder safety instruction or the

“fatality that didn’t occur” because

a worker knew not to venture into

a confined space without first

testing the air. isn’t that the best

impact of all?

The ‘fall that didn’t happen’ or the ‘fatality that didn’t occur’ may be the best impact of all.

an average of 10,000 union members are being trained every month in osha 10-hour courses.

“every construction worker needs to take this

course. it could save lives.”

impactan average of 10,000 union members are being trained every month in osha 10-hour courses.

impacta stORY OF

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training an OSHA-7600 card upon comple-tion of the class.

The program has been deployed across the country, and now more than 5,000 union tradesmen and tradeswomen in cities from the East Coast to the West Coast stand ready to respond in the event of a major disaster.

Building a Reserve Army of Disaster Responders

More than 5,000 Building Trades Union Members Stand Ready to Answer when Duty Calls

September 11, 2011 marked the 10th anniversary of the horrific

terror attacks on the twin towers in New York. CPWR joined other Americans in remembering the con-struction workers who rushed to the scene to assist in rescue operations. Day after day, week after week, these heroes in hard hats toiled to clear the steel, concrete and hazardous debris in a search first for survivors and then for remains. Volunteers put their life and health at risk in those early days to use their trade skills to help at Ground Zero.

Two things were soon evident. First, emergency responders at the scene of massive natural or man-made disasters desperately needed the assistance of experienced journeyworkers who could safely address live electrical wires, broken gas mains, torn asbestos pipe insulation, and towers of crumbled steel and masonry. Second, construc-tion workers responding to a flood, earthquake or similar catastrophe needed some special training on hazards common to the scene – and in cooperating with the incident command structure established by the first responders.

CPWR answered the challenge in two different ways: first, by develop-ing and delivering a site safety and health orientation for Ground Zero workers, and second, by creating a new training curriculum: Disaster Site Training for Construction Workers. Consulting with NIOSH, OSHA, the firefighters’ and building

trades unions, construction contrac-tors, and local emergency personnel, CPWR’s training curriculum was designed around an interactive DVD and led by an experienced trainer. Workers learn about typical dangers of a disaster scene and have an opportunity to explore life-or-death decisions well before they confront them in the field, and are awarded

Electricians Charge to the Rescue after Joplin Tornado

“Whenever our apprentice or journeyman electri-cians come in for OsHa 10-hour safety training, i push them hard to take the OsHa 7600 Disaster Response class too,” said iBEW local 124 instructor Justin Brockway. “as a former firefighter, i recognize just how much our tradesmen and tradeswomen can offer to our first responders – if they have the proper training.”

that training by the Kansas city local union proved useful after the devastating may 2011 tornado strike on Joplin, missouri. Electrician Bill iiams had received the Disaster Response training, giving him and his colleagues at green Wave technology the confidence and preparation to sweep into action a few hours due south.

“We packed food, water and tools and brought the team down to help,” said green Wave general manager and iBEW member mark Dresslaer. the National guard had barricaded the roads, realizing that untrained volunteers, however well-meaning, were as likely to injure themselves as to help others. “But when we showed up, they sent us right through to the first responder location. ‘You are exactly the people we need inside,’ they said.”

Construction workers trained in disaster response were welcome after a tornado strike on Joplin, Mo., 2011.

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impacta stORY OF

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Apprentice Attacks Unsafe Scaffold after OSHA-10 Training

insulator apprentice greg chrisman had only been in the program nine months but thanks to his cpWR/insulators Union OsHa 10-hour training he knew what to do when confronted with an unsafe scaffold. “greg saw the contractor had a jerry-built scaffold together. He refused to work on it and the contractor dismissed him,” explained Jonathan Hammock, training director for insulators Union local 86 in Hermitage, tenn.

“But greg knew what he was doing, and took a picture with his camera phone. When he sent it to me, the agent and i went to the contractor and told him unsafe work practices would not be tolerated. the superin-tendent fixed the problem, and the union gave greg a letter of commendation.”

The 10 Hours That Can Save a Life: OSHA Training

Tens of thousands of union building trades workers de-

pend on CPWR’s National Resource Center for critical “OSHA 10” and “OSHA 30” occupational health and safety training. How do we do it, with a staff of three?

It begins with CPWR and an all-star team of 50 “master trainers” drawn from the ranks of every construction trade. These master instructors gather every other year at the National Labor College to learn about the latest health and safety developments, changes in OSHA regulations and guidance, and new worker protection tools and techniques.

The master trainers then fan out among their brothers and sisters and train a small army of outreach instructors in each trade. Our corps of outreach instructors includes more than 5,000 craftsmen and craftswomen who have carried tools on the job and now are bringing their passion for health and safety to fellow union members.

Unlike many private and for-profit institutions delivering the 10- and 30-hour OSHA programs, CPWR relies exclusively on such worker-trainers, rather than safety professionals. Peer-to-peer training with hands-on exercises means a safety program that is tailored to your trade – and delivered by an instructor familiar with the lan-guage, tools and terms of your craft, and experienced in its characteristic challenges and hazards.

And that’s how CPWR and our Building Trades partners brought safety training to 300,000 U.S. construction workers from coast to coast in the last three years.

Jonathan Hammock, training director for Insulators Union Local 86, with Insulator Apprentice Greg Chrisman.

After OSHA 10-hour training, Apprentice Greg Chrisman refused to work on this jerry-built scaffold. The union stepped in to fix the unsafe condition; Chrisman received a commendation.

impacta stORY OF

This Training Curriculum Hits the Mark … for More Than 600,000 U.S. Construction Workers

The Smart Mark program has been a tremendous success,”

observed Building and Construc-tion Trades Department President Mark Ayers. “In the 10-hour pro-gram alone, an average of 10,000 union members are being trained every month.” For the past 15 years CPWR and the Building Trades have relied on their creative, customized Smart Mark Curriculum to provide

24

training top-quality safety instruction for the union sector construction industry. Since Smart Mark was launched in 1997, more than 600,000 workers have been trained using it. The pro-gram grew from 10 to 19 modules in 2008, adding topics like Silica and Motor Vehicle Safety.

In 2012, CPWR plans to help the BCTD make the Smart Mark curriculum more readily available to all building trades trainers via a secure Internet-based distribution system. CPWR will also seek to expand the available topics to help instructors meet OSHA’s expanded content requirements and evaluate how building trades trainers and unions embrace the new distribu-tion system.

CPWR Hazardous Waste Worker Training Helps Union Construction Workers Clean up America

A cross the United States, the CPWR and our 11 Building

Trades Union partners in the Con-struction Consortium for Hazardous Waste Training exceeded training targets by more than 20%. In the process, some 5,095 workers, techni-cians and support staff learned how to protect themselves and safely handle hazardous wastes.

CPWR training programs are widely admired for their use of worker-trainers. By recruiting instructors from the ranks of millions of experienced union tradesmen and tradeswomen, CPWR is uniquely positioned to tap an incomparable human resource. The instructors bring to bear a collective knowledge base in real-world construction that can’t be beat, and students appreciate and respect their peer trainers.

Of course, not every worker is a natural-born trainer. That’s why CPWR relies on a corps of master

What Instructors Say about Delivering Training

Our cpWR instructors take pride in the way their work has helped many students save life or limb, or just generally made the work-place safer and healthier.

• “ i receive comments all the time about how attending these classes has made each employee more aware of their surroundings and how trainees have been given the tools/knowledge it takes to work safely on projects, as well as deal with management regarding safety issues.”

• “During the training class, one can observe the light bulbs go on in the student’s heads remembering jobs they have performed and were not aware of the hazards they had faced. No one had explained to them any of the potential dangers or precaution the job entailed. many students stated that they were glad to have attended the class.”

• “ Our contract is being negotiated, and i have recommended OsHa language be included in our new contract and specifically a respiratory safety program with proper fit testing.”

“TcPwr will help

the Bctd make smart Mark more readily

available via a secure online system.

impacta stORY OF

25

Q:How do you clean up a nuclear weapons site?

A:With a HAMMER

For more than five decades, the Department of Energy made Hanford, a small town in Washington state, synony-mous with our nation’s security. the nuclear reactors there processed the plutonium for the atom bomb that ended World War ii and for the nuclear weapons that kept america safe for the duration of the cold War – decades of service that generated massive quantities of radioactive waste. in 1989, the Department of Energy, Environmental protection agency and the state of Washington agreed on a plan to restore the site by removing or remediating the billions of gallons of liquid waste and tons of solid waste left behind by the nuclear operations.

today, with over 11,000 workers involved in the cleanup, Hanford is the single biggest site of cpWR-NiEHs Hazardous waste training. in the last program year, 1,802 tradesmen and trades-women were trained to safely participate in hazardous waste remediation at Hanford in the state-of-the art Hazardous materials management and Emergency Response – or HammER – facility. Workers benefit from the instruction of fellow tradesmen and tradeswomen, all of whom still work at the Hanford site when not teaching, and enjoy unique training opportunities – like an exercise where they suit up in protective gear and enter a simulated contaminated site.

Got Training? Hanford is the single biggest site of CPWR-NIEHS hazardous waste training.

instructors who administer “train-the-trainer” courses and mentor new instructors as they teach their first courses. CPWR also provides the instructors with updated instruction-al materials and training enhance-ments as they continue in their health and safety training careers.

The 274 courses and nearly 80,000 training “contact hours” administered under the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) grant covered Hazardous Waste, Confined Space, Asbestos, Fall Protection, Scaffold, OSHA 10 and OSHA 500, among others. A new addition this year was Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting class (see below).

Getting the Lead Out:New NIEHS/CPWR Program on Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP)

The latest addition to the CPWR training consortium’s Hazardous Waste Training curriculum comes courtesy of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Lead-based paint was banned from residential use in 1978, for good reason. Even ingesting small amounts of lead put children at risk of brain damage and learning disabilities.

Millions of homes and schools built before 1978 still have walls and trim coated in lead-based paint. Undisturbed and kept in good repair this poses little danger, but when construction workers perform renovation work, the chips and dust fly and children are put at risk. That’s why the EPA issued its “Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting” rule in April 2010.

Under “RRP,” contractors and journeyworkers whose renovation or repair work will disturb lead paint in a home, school or child care facility must first be trained in lead-safe practices. CPWR responded to the challenge, incorporating the EPA-

developed curriculum and supple-menting it with dynamic hands-on activities. CPWR, now an EPA-ac-credited Lead RRP training provider, offered its inaugural class for members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Binghamton, N.Y., in June 2011.

Minority Worker Training Program

W hile there are countless “job training” programs

on the books, the building trades’ unions apprenticeship and training

impacta stORY OF

26

training

An Industry Where Women are the Minority

CPWR’s Minority Worker Training Provides Keeley Entry into Cement Masons, Leadership

When you say “minority” in america, people generally think about racial and linguistic groups. But in construction, women are the minority. While black and latino workers are now seen in

virtually every corner of the industry, men outnumber women in the trades by more than 25 to one. today the minority Worker training program is giving women a new path into the profession.

When the minneapolis plant where Jessica Keeley had worked closed down 10 years ago, she was thrown out of work – and looking for a new career. Fortunately she encountered cpWR’s minority Worker

training program, a federally funded program that helps women and minority workers find a path to good union jobs in construc-tion. the pre-apprenticeship program allowed her to try her hand at each of the trades, and Keeley took quickly to the work of the cement mason. she was soon indentured as an apprentice at Opcmia local 633.

“For a woman, a career in construction is a good place to learn about your strength and character – working with all men,” she said. she won the respect of her male colleagues and was elected to two terms on the union’s executive board.

When asked her most memorable job, it was no contest: building the new twins stadium. “We were doing pours one after another in the heat of the summer,” she said. “it was the hardest job i ever did, but now i can look back at it and say, i built that.

“We built it with union hands, with skill, pride, safety and quality in mind,” said Keeley. “i would definitely recommend a career in construction to other women i know.”

Jessica Keeley, OPCMIA

programs are uniquely positioned for success. Graduates report to union hiring halls and are placed at work with union-signatory contrac-tors, making for rates of job place-ment that put the average vocational training program to shame.

CPWR administers a federal grant to provide safety and health training to disadvantaged workers in under-represented groups in three cities near EPA Superfund sites. The U.S. government launched the program to give workers in the communities affected by the hazards the skills to be employed in their cleanup and abatement. CPWR and its partners in the building trades have done these workers one better – not only training them, but placing them in jobs with union contractors per-forming cleanup work and giving them a career ladder into good construction careers when that work is finished.

To make maximum use of federal grant dollars, CPWR taps into its existing networks and resources. By working with building trades unions and community-based organiza-tions, CPWR gains access to skilled instructors working in well-equipped training centers. In addition to the Superfund-focused hazardous waste workers classes, students receive training in asbestos abatement, scaffold erection, basic construction techniques, adult literacy, job readiness, and life skills.

The National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) awarded the Minority Work-er Training Program a new five-year NIEHS Grant in 2010. In its past program year, CPWR recruited 311 applicants in its three targeted communities of East Palo Alto, Calif., St. Paul, Minn., and New Orleans, La. Sixty-three of these were

Keeley poured concrete for Twins Stadium: “I built that.”

impacta stORY OF

27

What Students Say about CPWR Training

peer instructors – all of whom are current or former tradesmen and tradeswomen – are the cornerstone of all cpWR safety and health training programs. the instructors’ combination of techni-cal knowledge and real-world experience is a hit with class partici-pants as this post-training feedback attests …

“great course. Every construction worker needs to take this course. it could save lives.”

“i have turned in a couple of egregious workplace hazards to authorities since the training.”

“it was a great class, well informative, wonderful instructors who really knew their stuff. i really enjoyed the hands-on activities.”

“i would like to thank the local and OsHa for training me on many issues i knew nothing about. the class was very informative.”

“instructors discussed the highs and lows of confined space training. this other company i had worked for didn’t go into detail like these guys did, also with the hands on.”

“i believe i learned what i need to know to be safe and get through an emergency.”

“this course improved my knowledge on job sites. i have learned what it takes to be safer around chemicals. i learned also to be safe and aware of what one is working around.”

admitted for training, and the program secured a remarkable 95% graduation rate. (In contrast, only 50% of U.S. students who enroll in college complete their degrees!) Despite the challenges of the economic downturn, fully 80% were placed in jobs averaging a respectable $14.77/hour wage.

Progress in East Palo Alto

How does the union connection boost the CPWR success rate in the Minority Worker Training Program?

Well, the San Francisco Public Utility Commission and San Francisco Building Trades negotiated a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) ensuring that contractors enjoying public contracts for infrastructure upgrades will place community residents on these work sites. Already eight program graduates have found work as laborers or operators on these utility upgrade projects, some with leading national contractors like Granite Construction and Kiewit. Of East Palo Alto’s 32 graduates, 27 are currently working as apprentices among various trades. CPWR’s Hazardous Waste Worker, OSHA-30, and Confined Space training helped prepare students for this industry.

the program secured a remarkable 95% graduation rate. only 50% of u.s. college students complete degrees.

Hands-on training gets a thumbs up from students.

28

service

Our nation asked much of the

men and women who dedicated

their career and very lives to the

intense and secretive work of

producing nuclear weapons. From

World War ii to the sputtering end

of the cold War, government

and civilian workers toiled in giant

plants, often in remote locations,

to maintain a nuclear supremacy

for this country.

But what of the workers

who built new structures at

these facilities? Or repaired and

maintained the existing buildings?

Or even demolished old buildings

where hazardous materials once

were used? Who asked them to

sacrifice their health – or even life

– for this effort?

congress eventually moved

to establish a program to evaluate

the medical condition of those

workers. in 1996 the Building

trades National medical screening

program (Btmed) began reaching

out to the trades to connect with

members and retirees who

worked at these Department of

Energy nuclear facilities. since that

time, Btmed has reached more

than 24,000 affected workers.

the impact of the program is felt

individually by the thousands of

workers who have gone through

the medical screening program –

and by their families. the workers

are proud of their contributions,

even though they were

unwittingly exposed to toxic

materials. the results are clear: a

98.3% satisfaction rating among

Btmed participants. so read the

stories and feel the impact.

Who asked the construction workers in these plants to sacrifice their health – or even life – for this effort?

impactBtMed has screened more than 24,000 of these unsung heroes since its start in 1996.

“this program saved my life.”

— Dan Obray, Painter Idaho National Lab

30

Service

Building Trades National Medical Screening Program (BTMed)

The BTMed program has been coordinated by CPWR since inception in 1996, and is supported by the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO.

They were the sites where the Manhattan Project was

launched. They were the sites where World War II was won. They were the sites where the weapons were made that protected us during the Cold War. They were sites across the country where hundreds of thousands of construction workers labored to ensure our national security. They were the sites that bore the seal of the

Department of Energy, which inherited their oversight from the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC).

Operations at these nuclear weapons facilities began during the Second World War and continued for decades. Workers there daily – and often unknowingly – found themselves exposed to hazardous substances like asbestos, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, radiation, silica, toxic solvents. As a result, many would battle unfore-seen illnesses years down the road. Today they face both unique conditions like beryllium sensitivity

and elevated risks of more conven-tional hazards like lung disease, hearing loss and chronic obstructive pulmonary (lung) disorder or COPD.

In order to protect the workers who protected us, the Building Trades National Medical Screening Program (BTMed) was created. BTMed provides free medical screening for workers once em-ployed by construction contractors or subcontractors on Department of Energy (DOE/AEC) sites. With a work history interview followed by a medical exam, BTMed helps identify health problems in time for medical intervention.

BTMed has screened more than 24,000 of these unsung heroes since its 1996 inception, including 2,500 workers in the past fiscal year. The cumulative medical findings from BTMed show that many former DOE construction workers are afflicted by conditions that are much less prevalent in the general population. For instance, 18.2% of BTMed participants exhibited

BTMed is the largest medical evaluation program of older construction workers in U.S. history.

Hanford

Amchitka

Pinellas

PaducahWeldon Spring

MoundGE EvendaleFernald

MallinckrodtPortsmouth

Oak Ridge

Brookhaven

Idaho National Lab

Savannah River Site

Kansas City PlantYucca MountainRocky Flats

DOE/AEC Sites

Battelle Labs — King Ave. & West Jefferson

impacta stORY OF

population demonstrated hearing loss for normal speech tones, 57.2% of BTMed participants experienced hearing loss, which can mean not hearing the voice of a spouse or the questions of a grandchild.

Perhaps the test result that most distinguishes former DOE construc-tion workers from the general population is the 2.1% who tested positive for beryllium sensitivity, a condition virtually unknown in the general population. These findings not only show the importance of BTMed’s service, but also encourage all former DOE construction workers to take advantage of BTMed’s free medical screening.

New Study UnderwayIn 2011, Duke University received research funding from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to complete – in conjunction with BTMed partners – one of the largest studies ever of occupational risks for chronic

symptoms consistent with work-related lung disease, a condition afflicting only 7% of the general population. There was an even greater difference when it came to COPD: 22.5% exhibited symptoms of this condition, in comparison to only 7.1% of the general popula-tion. Although 35.9% of the general

31

UA Local 598 member awarded compensation for illness found through BTMed Screening

“Every year at Hanford, i had to give a blood sample,” courtland smith explained, “and every year, it came back clean. it wasn’t until i went through the Building trades National medical screening pro-gram that i found out i’d been sensitized to beryllium.” Beryllium, a rare element, is critical to the manufacture of nuclear devices. Because exposure is rare in most workplaces, symptoms of beryllium exposure can easily be overlooked or misdiagnosed. smith worked on the Hanford site for a decade before this disease caused his medical removal from the site. “i used beryllium tools everyday on the tank farm because they are spark-resistant, protecting against explosions. Until the day i was diagnosed, i didn’t know anything about beryllium. Because the Btmed’s exam checks for everything, i know all about that and much more. some of my buddies have discovered other illnesses.”

the experience convinced smith to promote the Btmed program with his colleagues. “if the fact that this program found a disease Hanford couldn’t find doesn’t convince you to go through the program, i guess nothing will.”

BTMed Detects Disease, Prompts Participant to Promote Program

obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD, defined as the obstruction of airflow due to chronic bronchitis and emphysema, is the fourth leading cause of death in the nation and costs billions of dollars in annual health care expenses. The three-year study will consist of 1,500 COPD cases and 1,500 control cases from BTMed participants. The researchers seek to identify which exposures increase COPD risk and

what levels of exposure demonstrate the greatest risk to health.

Early Lung Cancer Detection (ELCD)During the past year, BTMed conducted a pilot screening pro-gram using low-dose CT-scans to identify lung cancer at its earliest stages, when the potential for effective treatment and survival are

perc

ent

of in

divi

dual

s w

ith H

ealth

cOpD lung Disease

Hearing loss

60

45

30

15

0

Berylliumsensitivity

general populationBtmed

Health impairments in Btmed participants and general U.s. population

Courtland Smith

32

service

greatest. This pilot program covered 100 former workers from Oak Ridge and found 29 nodules needing additional evaluation. For two participants immediate biopsies were recommended. Twenty-seven participants had or will have a three-month follow-up scan.

The purpose of the pilot program was to develop detailed procedures for a low-dose CT-scan for high-risk former DOE construction workers. With additional funding from the Department of Energy, the ELCD program could expand to cover more participants from more DOE sites.

DOL EEOICPA Employment Verification

CPWR Begins First Year of Five-Year Renewed Contract

The mission of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness

Compensation Program is to deliver benefits to eligible employees and former employees of the Department of Energy, its contractors and sub-

98.3%satisfaction rating

among BtMed participants

contractors or to certain survivors of such individuals. But verifying past employment can be difficult for construction workers, many of whom were actually employed by contractors and subcontractors who may no longer be in business. That’s why the Dept. of Labor (DOL) con-tracted with CPWR in 2003 to assist in verifying construction workers’ employment.

While employers in other industries administer health and welfare and pension benefit funds, in the building trades these trust funds are managed jointly by unions and employers to provide benefits to workers employed by any signatory contractor. That’s why

IMPLEMENTING ORGANIzATIONS:

• CPWR–TheCenterforconstruc-

tion Research and training

• DukeUniversity

• UniversityofCincinnati

• ZenithAdministrators

PARTNERS:the Building and construction trades Department, aFl-ciO with support from:

• AlaskaStateBCTC

• AugustaBCTC

• CentralWashingtonBCTC

• ColoradoStateBCTC

• DaytonBCTC

• FloridaGulfCoastBCTC

• GreaterCincinnatiBCTC

• GreaterKansasCityBCTC

• IdahoBCTC

• KnoxvilleBCTC

• NassauandSuffolkCountiesBCTC

• Tri-State(Kentucky,Ohio,

West Virginia) Bctc

• WestKentuckyBCTC

• StLouisBCTC

“ i knew all our health was affected by our work, so i definitely wanted a physical to find out if anything was wrong,” says Dan Obray, a painter who worked at the idaho National lab from 1979 to 2004. “there’s not a big sign that says ‘Beryllium: Keep Out.’ instead, it can be in the dust that settles on pipes, in tool chests, or just

about anywhere in a building where beryllium production has been done.” Obray’s Btmed screening identified serious health problems, but they were treatable. left untreated, he may no longer be busy raising championship thorougbreds and quarter horses. He says, “this program saved my life.”

— Dan Obray, IUPAT member, Idaho National Lab, 1979 – 2004

a construction worker who com-pletes one job with a contractor can move on to another union construc-tion firm with no interruption in benefits. This system puts the unions in a unique position to verify work histories of members. Although the construction firm may have disappeared long ago, the health and welfare and pension funds remain with their record of hours worked. These records enable CPWR to provide employment history information for workers that are seeking compensation. With a track record of success, CPWR received a five-year renewal of its DOL contract in 2011 for this critical task aiding workers and their families.

33

Akbar-Khanzadeh F, Milz SA, Wagner CD, Bisesi MS, Ames AL, Khuder S, Susi P, Akbar-Khanzadeh M [2010]. Effectiveness of dust control methods for crystalline silica and respirable suspended particulate matter exposure during manual concrete surface grinding. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene. December;7(12):700-11.

BAC Journal [2011]. Craft Committees Identify Safety and Health r2p Priorities, Issue 2, pp 5-7.

BAC Journal [2011]. New Mast Climber Website Launched by Masonry r2p Partnership, Issue 2, pp 7.

Cigularov KP, Chen PY, Rosecrance J [2010]. The effects of error management climate and safety communication on safety: A multi-level study. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 42;1488-1497.

Cooper M, Susi P, Rempel D [2012]. Case study: Respirable silica and particulate exposure during lateral drilling of concrete. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, Feb;9(2):D35-41.

DeArmond S, Smith A, Wilson C, Chen PY and Cigularov KP [2011]. Individual safety performance in the construc-tion industry: Development and validation of two short scales. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 43(3):948-54. Epub 2011 Jan 7.

DeArmond S, Huang YH, Chen PY, Courtney T [2010]. Corporate Financial Decision Makers’ Perceptions of their Company Safety Performance, Programs and Personnel: Do Company Size and Industry Injury Risk Matter? WORK: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment, & Rehabilitation, 37(1):3-14.

Dong X, Wang X, Daw C. [In Press]. Fatal Falls among Older Construction Workers in the United States. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Dong X, Fujimoto A, Ringen K, Stafford E, Platner J, Gittleman J, Wang X. [2011]. Injury underreporting among Small Establishments in the Construction Industry. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, May 54(5):339-49.

Dong X, Wang X, Daw C. [2011]. Chronic Diseases and Functional Limitations among Older Construction Workers in the United States: A 10-Year Follow-Up Study. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Apr 53(4):372-80.

Dong XS, Men Y, Ringen K [2010]. Work-related injuries among Hispanic construction workers—Evidence from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 53:561–569 (PMID 20187004).

Dong X, Wang X, Herleikson B [2010]. Work-Related Fatal and Nonfatal Injuries among the U.S. Construc-tion Workers, 1992-2008. MD: CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training, November. www.cpwr.com

Dong XS, Fujimoto A [2010]. Health Insurance Coverage and Health Care Utilization Among Hispanic Construc-tion Workers. CPWR Data Brief. Vol. 2, No 1. Aug 2010. www.cpwr.com

Dong X, Wang X, Daw C [2010]. Fatal and Nonfatal Injuries among Hispanic Construction Workers, 1992-2008. CPWR Data Brief. Vol. 2, No 2. Dec 2010. www.cpwr.com

Fethke NB, Gant LC, Gerr F [2010]. Comparison of Biomechanical Loading During Use of Conventional Stud Welding Equipment and an Alternate System. Applied Ergonomics, 2010 Dec 21.

Flynn M and Susi P [in review]. Local exhaust ventilation for the control of welding fumes – issues in the construc-tion industry. Journal of Occupational and Environmen-tal Hygiene.

Fortunado B, Hallowell M, Behm M, Dewlaney K [2011]. Identification of Safety Risks for High Performance Sustainable Construction Projects. ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, posted ahead of print 4 July 2011.

Gittleman J, Gardner P, Haile E, Sampson J, Cigularov KP, Ermann ED, Stafford P, Chen PY [2010]. City Center and Cosmopolitan Construction Projects, Las Vegas, Nevada: Lessons learned from the use of multiple sources and mixed methods in a safety needs assessment. Journal of Safety Research, 41, 263-291.

HESIS [2011]. Drilling Overhead: Ways To Make A Tough Job Easier. California Department of Public Health, Occupational Health Branch. March 1.

Hoffmeister K, Cigularov KP, Sampson J, Chen PY, Rosecrance JR [In press]. A perspective on effective mentoring in the construction industry. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 37(2):673-688.

Recent Publications in Peer-reviewed Journals and Trade/Union Magazines

34

Huang YH, Leamon TB, Courtney TK, Chen P, DeArmond S [2011]. A comparison of workplace safety perceptions among financial decision-makers of me-dium- versus large-size companies. Accident Analysis & Prevention, Jan;43(1):1-10. Epub 2010 Sep 16.

Huang YH, Chen PY, Grosch JW [2010]. Safety climate: New developments in the conceptualization and industry-focused studies. Editorial Note for Special Issue on Safety Climate. Accident Analysis & Prevention. Sep;42(5):1421-1422. Epub 2010 Jan 13.

ICE Voice [2011]. ICE/BAC Initiatives Take Center Stage at Craft Committee Meetings. 1st Quarter 2011 Report, pp 9-10.

ICE Voice [2011]. New Mast Climber Website Launched by Masonry r2p Partnership, 3rd Quarter 2011 Report, pp 8-9.

ICE Voice [2010]. Unionized Masonry Industry to Serve as r2p Partnership Model for Construction Safety. 4th Quarter 2010 Report, p 8.

Kaskutas V [2011]. Timing is Right for Foremen’s Fall Prevention and Safety Education Training. The Cutting Edge, Carpenters’ District Council of Greater St. Louis and Vicinity, August, 2011.

Kaskutas V [2011]. Local Contractor takes Advantage of New Fall Protection Technology Loaning Program. The Cutting Edge, Carpenters’ District Council of Greater St. Louis and Vicinity, August, 2011.

Kaskutas V [2011]. OSHA and the Courts are Serious about Fall Protection. The Cutting Edge, Carpenters’ District Council of Greater St. Louis and Vicinity, July, 2011.

Lipscomb HJ, Nolan J, Patterson D, Fullen M, Takacs BC, Pompeii LA [2011]. Buyer beware: Personnel selling nail guns know little about dangerous tools. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2011 Apr 6. doi: 10.1002/ajim.20954. [Epub ahead of print].

Meeker JD, Susi P, Flynn MR [2010]. Hexavalent chro-mium exposure and control in welding tasks. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 7: 11, 607-615, First published on: 13 September 2010 (iFirst). DOI: 10.1080/15459624.2010.510105.

Occupational Health Watch on-line newsletter [2011]. Drilling Overhead: Ways to Make a Tough Job Easier. California Department of Public Health. April.

Rabito FA, Perry S, Salinas O, Hembling J, Schmidt N, Parsons PJ, Kissinger P [2011]. A longitudinal assessment of occupation, respiratory symptoms, and blood lead levels among latino day laborers in a non-agricultural setting. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, May;54(5):366-74. Epub 2010 Oct 28.

Redlich CA [2010]. Skin exposure and asthma: is there a connection?, Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society, 7, 134-137. (DOI- 10.1513/pats.201002-025RM).

Shepherd S, Woskie S [2010]. A case study to identify barriers and incentives to implementing an engineering control for concrete grinding dust. ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 136(11): 1238-1248.

Shishlov KS, Schoenfisch AL, Myers DJ, Lipscomb HJ [2011]. Non-fatal construction industry fall-related injuries treated in US emergency departments, 1998-2005. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 54(2):128-35. doi: 10.1002/ajim.20880. View abstract via PubMed.

Snyder LA, Krauss AD, Chen PY, Finlinson S, Huang YH [2011]. Safety performance: The mediating role of safety control. WORK: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment & Rehabilitation, 1;40(1):99-111.

Sparer EH and Dennerlein JT [under review]. Determin-ing safety inspection thresholds for employee incentives programs on construction sites. Journal of Safety Science.

Wisnewski AV, Xu L, Robinson E, Liu J, Redlich CA, Herrick CA [2011]. Immune sensitization to methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) resulting from skin expo-sure: albumin as a carrier protein connecting skin exposure to subsequent respiratory responses. Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology, 6, 6. (DOI- 10.1186/1745-6673-6-6).

Wisnewski AV, Liu J, Redlich CA [2010]. Antigenic changes in human albumin caused by activity with the occupational allergen diphenylmethane diisocyanate. Analytical Biochemistry, 400, 251-258. (DOI- 10.1016/j.ab.2010.01.037).

35

Daniel C. anton, PhDEastern Washington Universitycheney, Wa

eula Bingham, PhD University of cincinnati cincinnati, OH

Sergio CaPorali Filho, PhDUniversity of puerto Ricosan Juan, pR

John m. Dement, PhD, CihDuke University Durham, Nc

JaCk Dennerlein, PhDHarvard school of public HealthBoston, ma

BraDley a. evanoFF, mD, mPh Washington University st. louis, mO

nathan Fethke, PhD, CPe University of iowaiowa city, ia

mark Fullen eDD, CSPWest Virginia Universitymorgantown, WV

mark golDBerg, PhD Hunter college – cUNY New York city, NY

roBert F. herriCk, SD Harvard school of public HealthBoston, ma

heSter J. liPSComB, PhD Duke University school of medicine Durham, Nc

JeFFrey nelSon, mS, mBaconceptual arts inc. gainesville, Fl

miChele oChSner, PhDRutgers, the state University of New Jersey New Brunswick, NJ

CPWR Consortium Partners & Lead Collaborators

Carrie reDliCh, mD, mPhYale school of medicineNew Haven, ct

DaviD remPel, mD, mPhUniversity of california san Francisco

John roSeCranCe, PhDcolorado state UniversityFort collins, cO

SuSan WoSkie, PhD University of massachusetts, lowell

SMALL STUDy GRANTEES

laura Boatman, Bastate Building and construction trades council of california

Julie BroCkman, PhDmichigan state University

DeBra ChaPlan, mSstate Building and construction trades council of california

JaCk Dennerlein, PhDHarvard University

lee FreiDman, PhDUniversity of illinois at chicago

mattheW halloWell, PhDUniversity of colorado, Boulder

heSter liPSComB, PhDDuke University

DaviD remPel, mDUniversity of californiasan Francisco

Cora roeloFS, mS, SCDUniversity of massachusettslowell

John roSeCranCe, PhDcolorado state University

PARTNERSHIPSLABOR ORGANIzATIONS

BuilDing anD ConStruCtion traDeS DePartment, aFl-Cio, anD aFFiliateD CounCilS

international ConStruCtion unionS anD aFFiliateS

CONTRACTOR ASSOCIATIONS

the aSSoCiation oF union ConStruCtorS

meChaniCal ContraCtorS aSSoCiation

national aSSoCiation oF ConStruCtion Boilermaker emPloyerS

national eleCtriCal ContraCtorS aSSoCiation

north ameriCan ContraCtorS aSSoCiation

Sheet metal anD air ConDitioning ContraCtorS national aSSoCiation

U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

u.S. DePartment oF energy

u.S. DePartment oF laBor

environmental ProteCtion agenCy

national inStitute For oCCuPational SaFety anD health, CDC

national inStitute oF environmental health SCienCeS, niehS

STATE AGENCIES

State DePartmentS oF health

BUSINESS

Zenith ameriCan SolutionS, Wa

36

DEs

igN

: Ru

th B

urke

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

mark h. ayerS

Chairman of the Board and Presidentpresident, Building and construction trades Department, aFl-ciOWashington, Dc

Sean mCgarvey

Secretary-Treasurersecretary-treasurer, Building and construction trades Department, aFl-ciO Washington, Dc

riCharD reSniCk

Vice President/General Counselsherman Dunn, cohen, leifer & Yellig, pc Washington, Dc

eriCh J. (Pete) StaFForD

Executive DirectorcpWR – the center for construction Research and training silver spring, mD

noel C. BorCk

Employer Representative

iZ Cakrane

Vice president of labor RelationsWashington Division of URs corporationprinceton, NJ

Peyton t. hairSton Jr.senior Vice presidentDiversity and labor Relationstennessee Valley authorityKnoxville, tN

reverenD JameS CletuS kiley

Director of immigration policyUNitE HEREWashington, Dc

morriS m. kleiner

aFl-ciO professor of labor policy Director, center for labor policy Hubert H. Humphrey institute for public affairs University of minnesota minneapolis, mN

Oversight and Advisory Boards

gary m. mCkinney

presidentDay&ZimmermanNPSlancaster, pa

TECHNICAL ADVISORy BOARD

ralPh FrankoWSki, PhDchairprofessor of BiometryUniversity of texasHealth science center at Houstonschool of public Health

eula Bingham, PhDDepartment of Environmental HealthUniversity of cincinnati medical school

letitia DaviS, SCDDirector, Occupational Health surveillance programmassachusetts Dept. of public Health

Denny DoBBin, mSC, Cih (ret.)Environmental advisor chapel Hill, Nc

linDa m. golDenhar, PhDResearch professor of pediatricsJames m. anderson center for Health systems Excellence cincinnati children’s Hospital medical center

Steven heCker, mSPhDirector, continuing Education and OutreachDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health sciencesUniversity of Washington

JameS m. meliuS, mD, DrPhadministratorNew York state laborers’ Health and safety Fund

melvin l. myerS, mPaassociate professor University of KentuckyEmory University (adjunct)

harry Shannon, PhDprofessor, Department of clinical Epidemiology & Biostatisticsmcmaster University

37

SENIOR STAFF

Pete StaFForD Executive Directorpstafford@cpwr.com

ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS

Janie gittleman, PhD, mrPassociate Director safety and Health Researchjgittleman@cpwr.com

JameS Platner, PhD, Cihassociate Director science and technologyjplatner@cpwr.com

mary tarBrake, mBaassociate Director Finance and administrationmtarbrake@cpwr.com

DIRECTORS

roBin Baker, mPhDirector, Research to practice (r2p)rbaker@cpwr.com

eileen Betit

Director, special projectsebetit@cpwr.com

XiuWen (Sue) Dong, DrPh

Data center Directorsdong@cpwr.com

Don ellenBerger

Director Hazardous Waste training programdonellenberger@cpwr.com

miChael mCCann, PhD, CihDirector of safety Research mmccann@cpwr.com

CPWR Staff

PatriCia Quinn

Director, Energy Employees Depart-ment and small studies coordinatorpquinn@cpwr.com

Pam SuSi, mSPhDirector, Exposure assessmentpam_susi@comcast.net

ChriS trahan, CihDirector, OsHa and Disaster Response training ctrahan@cpwr.com

kiZetta vaughn

Director, minority Worker training programkizettavaughn@gmail.com

mary WatterS, mFacommunications Director mwatters@cpwr.com

laura WelCh, mDmedical Directorlwelch@cpwr.com

JaniCe Wheeler

National Resource centerprogram Directorjwheeler@cpwr.com

TRAINERS/COORDINATORS

gene DanielS

master instructor & lead and asbestos training program manager homerblue@aol.com

kelly DykeS

Equipment manager and instructor kellydykes@frontiernet.net

george neWman

master instructorsirdashgcN@aol.com

SPenCer SChWegler

Disaster Response Field coordinatorsschwegler@frontier.com

Steve SurteeS

coordinator, training ssurtees@cpwr.com

aleXanDra SZymCZak

lead and asbestos program coordinator grants Data manager aszymczak@cpwr.com

FIELD SERVICES

mike DorSey

Field Representativemdorsey@cpwr.com

ray truJillo

Field Representativertrujillo@sbctc.org

ADVISORS

DonalD eliSBurg, JDsenior Environmental advisordelisbur@infionline.net

knut ringen, DrPhsenior scientific advisorknutringen@msn.com

pHOtOs: Building and construction trades Department, aFl-ciO; Research: Nate Fethke, Vicki Kaskutas, Natalie schwatka, pam susi, adam Wisnewski, louis Kimmel, David Rempel, NiOsH/John Rekus from elcOsH images, istock, carlos gallegos, andy smoka/minnesota OsHa, matt gillen/NiOsH, lisa Jaegers; training: Don Ellenberger, ap Wide World photos, Jonathan Hammock, greg chrisman, Kizetta Vaughn, Jessica Keeley; service: U.s. Department of Energy (page 29), travis prater, gordon Rowe, Dan Obray, sherry gosseen.

© 2012, cpWR – the center for construction Research and training. all rights reserved. cpWR is the research and training arm of the Building and construction trades Dept., aFl-ciO: cpWR, 8484 georgia ave., suite 1000, silver spring, mD 20910. (mark H. ayers is president of the Building and construction trades Dept. and of cpWR; sean mcgarvey is secretary-treasurer of the Building and construction trades Dept. and of cpWR.)

production of this publication was supported by NiOsH grant OH009762, DOE grant DE-Fc01-06EH06004, NiEHs grants Es009764 and Es006185, and DOl contract DOlJ119E32607. the contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NiOsH, DOE, NiEHs, or DOl.

Find more information about our research, training and service work. Visit www.cpwr.com.

8484 georgia avenue, suite 1000. silver spring, mD 20910 • www.cpwr.com • www.elcosh.org

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